Microsoft has addressed the criticism surrounding its Xbox Series X “gameplay” reveal this week. The company acknowledged that it set wrong expectations for fans. It had teased Xbox Series X gameplay for the Inside Xbox show, but there was a dearth of actual gameplay as it showcased a lot of trailers from third-party publishers and developers. The Inside Xbox video on YouTube has garnered 33,000 dislikes, with comments filled with complaints that many felt misled. Similar reactions were seen on the Xbox YouTube channel for other gameplay reveals.
Responding to a fan tweet, Aaron Greenberg, the general manager of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft, admitted that they set some wrong expectations. He said that if they hadn’t said anything and just shown the Inside Xbox show like last month, the reactions might have been different. Microsoft appreciates the feedback and assures that they will learn from it as a team. One of the biggest issues was the highly anticipated gameplay reveal of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. The publisher’s elaborate Twitch stream teased a trailer that ultimately showed no gameplay but rather in-game cinematic camera work. The reaction to this was negative, with thousands of dislikes and angry comments. The creative director of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Ashraf Ismail, tweeted to fans, assuring them that there was more to come in the marketing campaign and thanking them for their excitement and passion while asking for patience and kindness. This incident has raised questions about what gameplay means in video game marketing. Based on the Inside Xbox episode, for Microsoft it seems to mean in-game footage rather than just showing how the game will look when played. Microsoft has promised a gameplay reveal for its first-party Xbox Series X games in July, and it’s likely there will be more gameplay shown then compared to this week.
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